To jump start TechEd IT Forum in Barcelona, Spain, this week, I'd like to highlight some announcements that IT professionals are really going to appreciate.  We're updating the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) to further assist IT professionals in complex enterprise environments in their desktop manageability pursuits.  Our improvements to MDOP should help IT pros save the companies money by further driving down total cost of desktop ownership.

First off, we're today announcing the public beta availability of Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5, an integral component of MDOP.  Formerly known as Microsoft "SoftGrid Application Virtualization" and now with the 4.5 release moniker "Microsoft Application Virtualization," this package transforms applications into virtualized, network-available services.  IT professionals will be able to use Microsoft Application Virtualization to deliver localized applications within localized environments.  Microsoft Application Virtualization supports product localization across 11 languages and has support for internet-facing scenarios as well.  It's now available via Microsoft Connect as a public beta and will become generally available in Summer 2008.  For more information on what's new in Microsoft Application Virtualization version 4.5, please browse to the Microsoft Application Virtualization site.

Creating a software inventory of an entire IT environment can be quite a task and with the Microsoft Asset Inventory Service, IT professionals have a new tool to help them complete that task.  MDOP customers can now download the Microsoft Asset Inventory Service 1.0 (AIS) by following instructions at the Volume Licensing site.

And finally, we're adding Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit, as well as Windows Server 2008, support to the Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset (DaRT).  DaRT 6.0 will enable IT staff offline removal of malware and viruses from infected PCs.  On top of that, DaRT 6.0 now can unlock BitLocker volume encryption and allow IT professionals to use DaRT functionality on a BitLocker-encrypted drive. DaRT 6.0 is available via private beta currently and will be made more broadly available in Spring 2008. DaRT 5.0 is available today for download by MDOP customers.

Stay tuned, as this is just the beginning from TechEd IT Forum in Barcelona.  I'll bring you coverage of further developments throughout the week...